Atychiphobia
by Exotos135
Summary: After returning home later than usual and with a bandage around her forehead, Lynn decides to tell her siblings what happened, revealing something about herself in the process. Cover by me.
1. Phobia

**Ah, Lynn Loud. Love her or hate her, probably mostly hate her, you can't deny that she has a personality: aggressive, energetic, but most importantly, victory-oriented. Her obsession with victory is often attributed to pride, because let's be honest, she's the Mrs. Pride of the Loud household.**

 **But what if there was a... darker source, for said victory addiction?**

 **Well, read on to find out what I'm implying. Hehehe...**

* * *

The Loud household was unusually quiet, which was a blessing for a certain jock that just so happened to go inside. This jock was Lynn Loud, the athletic child of the family, who not only had a bandage wrapped around her forehead like a headband, but she seemed to be a bit more... disturbed, than usual.

"Alright, just like I suspected, nobody's at the living room at this hour," Lynn remarked as she reached for her back. "Even so, I've been scared by Lucy so many times to know that's a possibility, so..."

Lynn took out a plastic bag from her back, and inhaled and exhaled inside it for a moment before she went upstairs. She breathed in and out inside the box as she headed to her and Lucy's bedroom, with seemingly nobody else nearby...

"Lynn?"

The jock clutched her chest and inhaled and exhaled faster, until she managed to calm down seconds later. She then turned around, and saw all of her sisters-and Lincoln-standing nearby, all looking worried.

"You don't, like, usually come home this late, did something happen?" Leni asked, clasping her hands.

"And why do you have the plastic bag?" Lana asked, pointing at the bag.

"Oh, this thing?" Lynn glanced at the bag and saved it in her pockets. "Well, the nurse gave it to me when I finally came out of her office, she said that I should inhaled and exhaled in it if I started to feel jumpy or energetic."

"You went to the nurse's office?" Lola raised an eyebrow. "I mean, that would explain the bandage, but whenever you go to the nurse's office, you go there because you broke one of your bones, and you seem mostly fine."

"And you arrived later than usual, and you're that kind of _patient_ ," Luan quipped, chuckling for a second before turning serious again. "But seriously, though, what happened?"

Though hesitant to do so, the athlete was at least smart enough to know that, if she didn't tell them now, they probably would find out eventually. And so, with all eyes on her, Lynn started...

 _A long time ago..._

" _I realized that I was mostly brawn, but no brains, so I tried to change that by joining the chess club," Lynn continued to narrate as her past counterpart walked to one of the members. "I was fairly confident I'd be able to do that, after all, chess was just a sport that used brains instead of physical tactics, right?_ "

"I'd like to join your club, please!" Lynn from the flashback stated.

The other club members shot angry looks at Lynn.

" _I probably should've been a bit less direct with my request._ "

"Okay, guys, let's give her a chance," Penelope, a member of the chess club, said in a friendly tone as she walked towards Lynn. "Let's hear her out first before we decide to get angry with her. So, for what reason do you wanna join the chess club?"

"People think I'm just a brute with no brains, and I want to prove them wrong!" Lynn confidently spoke. "So, I figured I simply had to join a club where a lot of brain power was required, and I thought chess was the best idea!"

Suddenly, Penelope's friendly stare turned into a furious glare, followed by all the other members of the club shooting similar glares at the athlete.

" _I probably shouldn't have said that right then and there._ "

"Let me get this straight: The reason you want to join our club, is not because you genuinely want to, but because you think it'll make you look smart?" Penelope sternly asked, slowly leaning closer to Lynn's face as she talked. "You're going to use us, just to make yourself look better?"

"Hey, no offense girl, but wouldn't you be used to that, being nerds and everything?" Lynn innocently asked, no doubt further angering the members. "Besides, you'll just have to deal with me until I can prove I'm both strong and smart!"

Just then, Penelope got an idea, and she slowly separated from Lynn as she got a wide, devious smile. Then she suggested:

"How about we have a little chess match?"

Mere seconds later, Lynn and Penelope were having a little match of chess, with the other chess club members staring at the sidelines as Lynn started by moving her rook, followed by Penelope moving her own rook. Lynn was playing white, while Penelope was playing black.

"So, how about we have a little discussion while we're playing this?" Penelope asked, then moved her other rook two squares ahead. "After all, you seem confident you're going to win. Almost like you were no _rook_ ie at this."

"I stopped being a rookie a long time ago, girl," Lynn stated as she repeated Penelope's move, with her own rook. "I've been the star player at everything I've been a part of, and I bet it's going to be the same for this club when I join!"

"I'm afraid that won't happen, wanna know why?" Penelope moved her black queen to the side of Lynn's white rook. "'Cause I'm the _queen_ , and you're just a _fool's mate_!"

" _It was in that very moment that I realized... I had been played like a fool._ "

The Lynn from the past stared at the board in shock, just realizing she had lost the game. And what made her realize she had been played? Well, Penelope laughing like a pompous high-class lady probably gave her a clue.

"Do you like my imitation of a high-class laughter?" the redheaded geek asked in the middle of her laughter. "I'm practicing to laugh at my victory when I eventually find a worthy opponent to face."

That last statement certainly struck a nerve, just what did the girl mean?!

"What are you talking about?!" Lynn snapped, slamming her fists at the table. "You don't see me as a worthy opponent?!"

Lynn kept a furious glare as Penelope's laughter calmed down, then ceased altogether. Then, as the redheaded nerd leaned closer to Lynn's face, up until their noses were practically touching basically, the jock couldn't help but feel that in this particular situation, _she_ was the weaker one.

And what Penelope said next didn't help matters:

"Oh please, Lynn, everybody knows you're all brawn and no brains. After all..."

Penelope smirked.

"What sort of "worthy opponent" would let themselves be played so easily, and so blatantly?"

Seconds later, Penelope separated from Lynn, a smug grin frozen on her face as the other chess club members laughed to their hearts delight, with the scene soon changing in Lynn's eyes:

The chess club members turned into large shadowy figures with white, glowing eyes, which all laughed and pointed at the jock as a voice suddenly spoke:

" _Is that the best you got?!_ "

The jock scanned her surroundings, and grabbed her head in slight pain, but she couldn't see the source of the voice. And then it spoke again, while Lynn felt her head being struck by... something blunt:

" _How can one of my daughters be such a weakling?!_ "

The girl continued to look around, but her search continued to bear no fruit. And finally, the voice spoke for a third time, somehow causing Lynn to clutch her stomach in pain in the process:

" _Do you really want to prove you're a disappointment?!_ "

Lynn grabbed her head and shed a couple tears as she hyperventilated, which caught the attention of the club members immediately. In particular, Penelope's smug grin disappeared and was replaced instead with a worried frown, while in Lynn's eyes, her figure morphed to look like an older woman, with red glowing eyes and a furious glare.

"Um, Lynn, are you okay?" the redhead asked, scratching her hair. "Listen, I'm sorry if I was too harsh during that statement, but-"

Suddenly, the athlete collapsed and hit the floor. And as the club members panicked and went to get the school nurse, Lynn slowly closed her eyes, and fell unconscious.

 _Back in the present..._

The siblings argued with themselves about the flashback, though two of them exchanged looks before going forward and stating:

"Just as we feared."

Everybody turned to look at the sisters, who happened to be Lisa and Lucy, the latter opening a book about phobias on a page titled "Atychiphobia" as the prodigy pointed at it and stated.

"You appear to suffer from atychiphobia."

One raised eyebrow from the rest later, Lisa explained, "It's a specific type of phobia that is related to the fear of failure or defeat itself. Like, for example, when Lola thinks one of her tea parties is gonna go wrong, but on a larger, much more crippling scale."

"We had a feeling you had something like that ever since the board game incident, so we looked for some more evidence in the meantime," Lucy added, closing the book somberly. "And the event that happened in your flashback gave us the final clue to conclude that yes, you have atychiphobia."

"Huh, so not only did that feeling have a name, but it's also a phobia?" Lynn scratched her chin. "And here I was thinking it was just my old self trying to convince me to call it quits."

"Well, don't say anything else, girls," Lincoln stated, getting in between Lisa and Lucy and wrapping his arms around them as he stated, "We're going to help Lynn deal with her atychiphobia!"

The other sisters talked about it, with most of them agreeing to the idea. And yet, their excitement was brought down when Lynn, with a small but clearly sad smile, replied:

"Guys, I'm flattered that you want to help me, really I am. But, I just can't accept your offer. I need to rest per nurse's orders, and if you tried to help, you'd probably just worsen the headache I have right now."

The siblings lowered their heads in silent agreement.

"Lynn, at least, promise us something," Lincoln said. "Once you feel better, please reconsider our offer to help you, alright?"

"Don't try to stubbornly deny it, either," Lisa added, adjusting her glasses. "This phobia of yours is something that could very well cripple your mental well being, if it hasn't done so already. The faster you're cured of it, the better."

"I know, and I'll think about it as well," the jock sighed. "But if nothing works... then just stop trying. It doesn't matter if you help me get rid of this "phobia" or not, anyway."

The siblings eyes widened in shock. Lynn Loud, Lynn "Victory At All Costs" Loud, telling her that it didn't matter if they succeeded in helping her or not?!

"I've had this phobia for years, and I've had to deal with it all alone," Lynn looked at the ground. "I'll just... try to deal with it myself sometime... eventually."

Lynn went inside her and Lucy's bedroom, and the rest of the sisters exchanged looks with the trio of Lincoln, Lucy, and Lisa, who frowned as their siblings went back to their rooms, leaving them alone to look at Lynn and Lucy's bedroom door.

"We'll help her eventually, right?" Lincoln asked.

"It would be the best course of action if we did..." Lisa pointed out.

Lucy remained silent for a second, then looked at the ground and said:

"I hope we do."


	2. Investigation

**So, people seem to enjoy this story and say it has potential to be a full story, so I figured I should give it a shot. It could be interesting to try write a Lynn story that portrays her as a victim WITHOUT demonizing anybody. Sort of.**

 **How long will this story be, I have no idea, all I do know is that some shocking stuff will be revealed in the later chapters, so try to stay in your seats everybody.**

 **And with that said, let's go to the chapter!**

* * *

A day had passed since the incident where Lynn revealed her atychiphobia, also known as the fear of failure and defeat. Although, despite the revelation, not much seemed to change in the Loud house, other than Lynn acting a bit calmer than usual, even as she was having a phone call at her and Lucy's bedroom.

"Hello, Coach Pacowski?" Lynn greeted at the phone, trying to keep a distance from it just to be safe. "Yeah, please cancel my established times for practice. I had a bit of an accident yesterday and the school's nurse suggested that I take a couple days off from exercising."

Pacowski answered, and Lynn tilted her head. "Oh, you already did that? By the nurse's request?"

Pacowski answered again, and Lynn shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all: I agree with the decision."

Then, as the phone call neared its end, the door to the bedroom slowly opened, with two figures going inside as Lynn nodded and hung the phone. Then she turned around, and saw who the shadowy figures were: Lucy, sporting her "seer" outfit, and Lisa, holding a clipboard and pen.

"Um, hi?" the jock greeted, glancing at her sisters as she asked, "Do you need something?"

"Well, remember when we offered to help you, and you said no?" Lucy asked, earning a nod from Lynn. "Well, we talked about it with Lincoln, and he suggested that, maybe you didn't want to accept the help because it was almost all of us who were offering to help."

"So, in a logical viewpoint, you'd be a bit more willing to accept the help if it came from just two of us, rather than all of our siblings," Lisa added. "And after thinking about it some more, he suggested that Lucy and I could try to help you."

"Okay, I can understand why he'd suggest Lucy, since we're pretty close," Lynn argued, folding her arms. "But why did he also recommend you?"

"Are you kidding? I'm a scientist! I can use science and all of its relative concepts to help us find out the source of your phobia, and what we can do to help you overcome it," Lisa explained, before adjusting her glasses and boasting, "Not only that, but my help will make figuring said stuff out into a piece of cake, since I have a prodigious intellect that nobody else in this house has!"

Lynn, however, was not impressed. "And you're also using said "prodigious intellect" to turn "pie" into an actual ice cream flavour."

As Lynn said that, Lisa gave a couple licks to an ice cream cone whose ice cream looked like an actual pie. "I'm getting closer to success every day!"

"What we're trying to say is, we understand you don't want everybody's help, but at least accept the small help Lisa and I offer," Lucy said, grabbing Lynn's hand with her own as she added, with a little smile, "Anything we can find out right now could help us in the future. So please, let us help you."

Lynn took a deep breath. "Alright, let's do it. What's the first step?"

Lucy actually put up a small smile and sat next to Lynn as Lisa went to Lynn's bed, and wrote something down on the clipboard. "The first thing I had in mind, which may or may not be uncomfortable for you, is to try and figure out what exactly the visions you saw could actually mean."

"Well, I don't see a problem with that," the jock sighed. "Just as long as I don't have to explicitly remember the worst parts of what went down, I'm fine with it."

"Okay, so, I'll ask you some questions and I want you to answer honestly, okay?" Lisa replied. "First question, what, exactly, do you think triggered the phobia-induced panic attack? Don't try to remember the scene, just tell me what you honestly think was the trigger."

Lynn scratched her chin and looked at the ceiling. "Hmm... I think I started panicking after realizing I had lost. Everything suddenly went downhill afterwards."

Lisa wrote that down and continued, "Second question, did you feel any unpleasent feelings before collapsing?"

Lynn clutched her stomach. "Pain... disappointment... regret... and a slight dose of fear as well after I saw the red-eyed figure."

"Red-eyed figure?" Lisa repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What red-eyed figure?"

The jock flinched and looked away.

"I guess that's as far as my help goes, then," Lisa turned to her gothic sister. "It's time for you to do your part, Lucy."

The goth nodded, and grabbed Lynn's palm. "Alright, Lynn, I'm gonna read your palm, and this'll let me take a closer look inside your mind. Or at least, I hope that's how it works."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Lynn frowned. "I mean, what if you find something disturbing inside my head?"

"I'll just leave and try my best to describe it," Lucy shrugged. "Now, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let me do the rest."

So, with nothing else to do, Lynn took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The whole vision went black, besides Lynn and Lucy, of course, and soon enough, the goth managed to see something. However, once a pair of furious red eyes opened, the goth's heart skipped a beat, only to beat even faster as several words flashed in the blank void:

"Useless."

"Worthless."

"Weakling."

"Loser."

Before long, the extreme negativity started to overwhelm the goth, and she had no choice but to release Lynn's palm, returning both of them to reality, only for Lucy to fall on top of Lisa in the process.

"Lucy, are you okay!?" Lisa asked as she crawled out, then helped Lucy get up. "What did you see?!"

"There was... something, deep within Lynn's mind," Lucy grabbed her head, trying to remember what she saw without getting another panic attack. "A seemingly malevolent, yet definitely ignorant force, constantly spitting out negative, demoralizing words!"

What Lucy said next sent chills down the jock's spine:

"And it was female!"

Lynn clutched her chest again and inhaled and exhaled, before doing the same while holding a paper bag close to her face. This sight made the duo realize that going any further wouldn't do their sister any good, so they exchanged worried looks and got up.

"The only logical conclusion I can get from what you say's that Mom went too far and traumatized Lynn a long time ago," Lisa scratched her chin. "But why? Mom doesn't sound like the kind of person to do something like that..."

Lynn scratched the back of her head and looked elsewhere.

"I believe that'll do for today," Lisa stated, adjusting her glasses at the side. "Sorry if we made you worry or anything."

Soon enough, Lynn calmed down and replied, "Nah, I'm fine, really! Just... be wary of what you say next time, okay?"

The scientist and the poet exchanged worried looks, and then they headed out, though not before allowing a certain trio inside.

"Lynn?"

The girl turned around and saw Polly Pain and Margo, her roller derby teammates, alongside Penelope, the very same person that caused her to blackout, yet also the same one that had the idea to take her to the nurse's office. Still, the first memory was still rather clear in Lynn's head.

"Why did you come here?" Lynn asked, throwing an angry glare at Penelope as she added, "Specially _you_."

"Penelope told us about what happened at the chess club, and we wanted to see if you were okay," Margo explained, clasping her hands as Penelope and Polly nodded in agreement. "So we came here to see if you were okay, and see if there was something we could do to help you."

"Listen, my siblings tried the same thing; They offered their chance to help me, and I had to turn them down," Lynn sighed. "And Lucy and Lisa already helped me, and they found some disturbing stuff, so for both my and your sake, I'm sorry, but I have to reject your offer as well."

Polly frowned. "Lynn-"

The jock smiled and waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "Don't worry about me, girls, I'll be fine."

"We know, you've been through worse after all," Polly replied, rolling her eyes. "But can you blame us for getting worried? You just collapsed out of nowhere!"

"Yeah, usually when you collapse, it's due to you exercising beyond your limit, or just general exhaustion," Margo added. "But you were just doing a simple chess match, and you were knocked as if you got hit in the face by a boxing glove!"

"Speaking of the chess match, I came here in order to tell you something about the game we played," Penelope sighed and twiddled her fingers. "The game... wasn't being even played right to begin with."

Lynn frowned. "W-What are you talking about?"

"If you had read the rules, you would've noticed, but you didn't," Penelope folded her arms. "The very first move you made was incorrect. So, I decided to play along and play the game wrong as well. Even the "fool's mate" I said I did wasn't even done right: The steps taken to it weren't followed at all."

"Wait, are you saying I collapsed and got all worked up for a mock game?!" Lynn exclaimed, earning a nod from the redhead in response. "Well, if you knew that was the case, why didn't you say anything about it?!"

"It was a test, silly; If you can't even tell when the game's being played wrong, what makes you think I'll let you join the club?" Penelope replied. "Although, now that we're here, I'm kinda glad I didn't point out how your were playing it wrong. I mean, if you reacted that badly to losing a game that wasn't being played right, then how would you have reacted if the game was being played properly?"

Lynn glanced at a nearby board game, and nervously said as she hid it elsewhere, "Y-Yeah, that's a mystery for the ages."

"Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you," Penelope stated. "We know that you need to rest as much as you can, so, we'll leave you alone now, if you don't need our help."

But while Margo and Polly did get out of the room, Lynn stopped Penelope on her track. "Before you go... I'm sorry about my attitude during the chess match. I thought it didn't take much to join the club, and... I was wrong."

Margo and Polly exchanged surprised looks, and Penelope put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, I'm also partially at fault for being so antagonistic to you, all just because you can be such a "jork" at times."

Lynn raised an eyebrow.

"It's my way of saying "jerk" and "jock" at the same time," Penelope giggled. "Anyway, I gotta go now, goodbye."

The girls waved goodbye, and Lynn went back to her bed to sleep afterwards.

 _Meanwhile, with Lucy and Lisa..._

The duo walked into Lori and Leni's bedroom, where the rest of the sisters-and Lincoln-sat on the beds, with Lori wearing her "babysitter" military clothing as she asked, "What did you manage to find out?"

"From the looks of it, Lynn's phobia has a source in a traumatic childhood, with a female figure that made her feel worthless unless she was good at everything," Lisa explained, adjusting her glasses as she added, "We thought it could be Mom, but since she's more of the neglectful kind of parent, we doubt that she's the source of the trauma."

Lori stood up and walked to her bedroom window, where she watched the sky and then the garage as Lucy asked, "What should we do, Lori?"

"Just because she's not an abusive mother doesn't mean she doesn't know anything," Lori turned back to her sisters and ordered, "We're going to ask Mom about Lynn's condition, and we're going to squeeze every single bit of information she has!"

"And what if she knows nothing?" Lisa asked. "In that case, the interrogation will lead to nowhere!"

Lori chuckled. "Who said we're going to interrogate her alone?"


	3. Interrogation

**Okay, here's chapter 3, and in this chapter... let's just say the plot will thicken. And I'll make sure to keep a weekly update schedule as well, but if I can't post in a weekly way, I ask that you stay patient and wait while I write the chapters. This isn't the only story I'm writing, and the subject in this story is a bit sensitive in a way, so I can't rush it to my heart's content.**

 **Also, one reviewer asked how the phobia's name was spelled. I looked online, and I couldn't find anything, but I think the spelling I would go with would be A-ti-shi-phobia. Don't quote me on that, though, it's just a suggestion.**

 **And hey, at least I didn't pick the other name for the fear: kakorrhaphiophobia.**

 **But I've stalled for long enough, to the chapter!**

* * *

The Loud siblings, outside of Lynn of course, walked downstairs and stood in the front door, waiting for the moment their parents would walk through it. However, after budging for a moment, the siblings realized something: The front door was actually locked for once.

"Uh, hello, kids! Are any of you there?" Lynn Sr. called from outside. "Could you please open the door for us? I left the keys!"

The siblings groaned and Lori opened the door, allowing the parents to come inside and reveal they had Burpin' Burger bags with them. Although this only briefly got the siblings' attention, since they immediately went back to their anger when the parents went into the kitchen.

"Of all the times you could've left the front door keys, it had to be today, didn't it?" Rita complained as she walked in and put her bags on the table.

"Can you blame me? That door's left open so often, I figured one of our kids left it open again!" Lynn Sr. replied, putting his bags next to Rita's.

And then the duo left the kitchen and noticed their children standing nearby, clearly upset at the duo, though they apparently failed to notice this.

"Oh hi kids, thanks for opening the door," Lynn Sr. told the siblings. "We brought you some Burpin' Burger food, would you like to eat?"

The siblings exchanged looks, and mere seconds later, everybody was eating the food at the kitchen, the parents eating a bit away from the kids since they were shooting angry glares at them. And as much as they tried to ignore the glares, they were just too blatant to do so.

"Our kids seem to be angry at us for something," Lynn Sr. whispered to his wife. "Did we forget one of their birthdays or something? I don't remember doing anything to warrant this reaction."

"They're probably just irrationally angry at something," Rita got up. "Let me handle this, I was known for getting angry for petty reasons."

The woman walked to her kids, and clapped, getting their attention.

"Listen, kids, your Dad and I couldn't help but notice that something seems to be bothering you," Rita stated, earning angry looks from them. "So, we'd like to know what it is, so we can help you."

Next thing the parents knew, they were put on the couch, their children surrounding them as Lisa came in dragging a whiteboard to the living room.

"Well, first and foremost, I think you need to know what happened in your absence," Lisa said as she took out a red marker. "'Cause believe us, this series of events will explain everything."

Lisa raised her arm... and realized she wasn't tall enough to reach the whiteboard. She tried to stand on the top of her feet, but that still wasn't enough. She then tried to jump up, but the most she managed to do was draw some rather crude lines before hitting the ground. So, growing exasperated, Lori walked to Lisa, took the marker, and drew a picture of Lynn as Lisa turned back to her parents and explained:

"Earlier this morning, our sibling unit known as Lynn Loud returned a couple hours later than usual from her practice. Not only that, but she returned with a bandage wrapped around her head."

Lori drew the bandage on Lynn as Rita remarked, "Oh man, she got hurt while doing one of her sports, didn't she?"

"Well, yes and no," Lisa answered as Lori drew the next scene; Lynn having a chess match with Penelope... or a crude interpretration of her, at least. "Yes in the sense that she did get hurt, psychologically, to the extent that she blacked out. However, the context for the damage was because she lost a match of chess. A defeat apparently so vicious, she collapsed from sheer shock."

"Oh my, it can get that bad?!" Rita remarked, before throwing an angry look at Lynn Sr. "I thought you said being defeated would only lead her to try and win at everything to regain her dignity or something!"

"Because that's what I originally thought!" Lynn Sr. exclaimed, nervously looking away as he added, "I-I've never seen her reacting to defeat that way before!"

"And I'm afraid, that's not all," Lisa stated as Lori erased the drawing, then drew Lynn with Lucy and Lisa. "Lucy and I went to her bedroom to try and get some information out of here, you know, to try and figure out how we could help her."

"You could remain quiet and not bother her," Lynn Sr. nervously suggested.

Rita slowly turned to her husband, and as soon as she gave him an "are you serious?" look, the siblings burst up laughing, with Luan even shouting, "I get it!"

"Oh, father unit, you're charming even when under pressure, huh?" Lisa remarked once the laughter ceased. "Luan could learn a thing or two about you."

"Or, like, a dozen," Leni innocently added.

"Hey!" the comedian shouted.

"Anyway, back to the topic at hand," Lori erased the drawing and drew a new one, showing Lynn standing in the middle of darkness, with a pair of eyes on top of her and with several negative words floating in the background. "Lucy took a look at Lynn's inner self, and found some rather disturbing information. More specifically, she found that there was a female voice constantly telling our athletic sibling that she was useless, worthless, and several other unpleasent words."

The parents exchanged worried looks as Lori erased the drawing, took the whiteboard away, and the rest of the siblings went to Lisa's side.

"With all this information, we've come to the conclusion that not only does Lynn have Atychiphobia, but that it's related to a trauma she endured in childhood thanks to a female presence," Lisa answered as she adjusted her glasses. "We want to know if you know anything about it."

"We don't know anything, sorry," Rita answered without hesitation as she stood up. "Now, if you excuse us-"

Lynn Sr. grabbed Rita by the shirt and pulled her back to her seat as the siblings went "tsk, tsk, tsk", with Lisa adding afterwards, "Silly Mother, your lack of interest in movies has betrayed you once again."

Rita raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everybody knows that, in movie interrogations, when people say they know nothing and try to get out as fast as possible, it means they're hiding something!" Lola proudly explained, folding her arms as she smugly added, "And you said that we wouldn't learn anything while watching movies several times!"

"I still don't get why you decided to watch "Crimes and Tiaras" 48 times, though," Lana remarked.

"It's just that good of a movie, okay?" the diva stated. "Don't judge me!"

"Okay, let's assume that we did know about Lynn's phobia before you figured it out yourselves," Rita answered, glancing at Lynn Sr. in disapproval before she continued, "Just how do you expect us to tell you about it? This is a delicate matter that needs to be discussed with time and effort."

"Knowing you, that, like, probably means that you'll stay out of it and hope we figure it out ourselves," Leni remarked, folding her arms as she growled, "Well, too bad, Mom and Dad! This time you, like, aren't going to get off the hook so easily!"

"Yeah, I mean, none of us had any idea Lynn had atychiphobia or whatever it's called because most of us aren't close with her," Lincoln explained, before pointing at the parents. "But you're our parents! And thought you're not there most of the time, you still know us really well!"

"Specially if one of you is secretly the reason the phobia exists!" Lisa sternly added. "And since the source is supposedly female, we, like we've probably said before, have to conclude that our Mother Unit has something to do with it."

"Kids, I said this before, and I'll repeat this as long as your refuse to get it," Rita folded her arms. "I don't have anything to do with Lynn's phobia!"

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Lisa growled.

"Yeah, Mom! Stop spitting lies before you set those perfectly good pair of pants on fire!" Leni exclaimed, earning an "Are you serious?" look from everybody else. "What?!"

"Kids, your mother doesn't know anything. If you want to get answers, you have to ask me," Lynn Sr. stated, forcefully barging into the conversation. "And, if it helps, I'll tell you all I know right now, no need to coerce me into doing it."

The siblings exchanged looks, and sat down as the man begun to explain:

 _A long time ago..._

" _Back when you guys were younger, Lynn was one of the most energetic of our kids._ "

The scene showed a much younger Lynn at the backyard, running around like any bored kid with too much energy would do.

" _She was practically unstoppable! Even Rita and I had trouble getting her to calm down once she got going._ "

And then the scene suddenly changed, showing the younger Lynn in the middle of a baseball game.

" _But all that change during one fateful game of baseball, an innocent one, for the most part._ "

The game went as normal, until it was Lynn's turn to be the batter.

" _And then, it all fell apart._ "

Suddenly, everything went black as a loud *SMACK* was heard, with Lynn slowly recovering consciousness and opening one of her eyes to see she was looking at the sky.

" _Lynn missed._ "

The girl got up, and covered her other eye, which felt bruised and pained for some reason. And then, several of the enemy teammates, and even some of Lynn's own teammates, cornered her and started throwing negative words at her.

" _Afterwards, everybody was merciless towards Lynn; They told her she was worthless, useless, that they trusted her, and she let them down._ "

A long time later, the young Lynn, now with her bruised eye covered with a bandage, saw a 2nd place trophy on the school trophy case, an brutal reminder of her failure.

" _Ever since that humilliation... that sense of defeat... or impotence... she would always remember this exact moment, to remind her of why she needed to be the best. Of why, otherwise, she would be seen as nothing but a failure._ "

The younger Lynn gritted her teeth and cracked her knuckles.

" _And from there on, she was never the same._ "

 _Back at the present..._

"And that's how Lynn got her atychiphobia," the man finished. "The insane expectations of the sports world got to her really bad. And I was hoping you wouldn't find out until later so we could talk this out in a calmer way."

"Nice try, Dad, but we all know you're saying nothing but baloney," Lori stated. "I mean, for one, we were there when Lynn was younger, and we never once saw her and her coach on bad terms before! I mean, we literally went to most of her events, we would remember something like that if if it had really happened!"

"And speaking of Mom, where is she?" Luan asked, pointing at the empty space where Rita used to be.

Everybody looked at their surroundings for a moment, and then spotted Rita trying to sneak her way up to the staircase. Luckily, the Loud siblings quickly dogpiled her.

"Kids, let me go!" Rita barked as she tried to break free. "For the last time, I don't know anything about her condition! Your dad already told you everything you wanted to know!"

"You're lying through your teeth!" Lisa exclaimed. "Everybody knows that humans, male or female, can hold up to several dozen secrets at once! Specially if they're parents, who usually have to hide sensitive information until they're children are at the right age!"

"What Lisa's trying to say is that we know there has to be something you're hiding from us!" Lincoln explained. "I mean, everybody in our family holds some secrets, so it's only fair to asume you're hiding secrets too!"

"Oh come on, that's just ridiculous!" Rita rolled her eyes. "Be honest, is there a single person in this household that holds that many secrets!?"

Lily made Rita raised her arm, and the Loud siblings raised their arms shortly afterwards.

Even Lincoln, which Lori quickly pointed out, "Lincoln, you're literally not a girl."

"Kids, stop it!" Lynn Sr. exclaimed as everybody turned to look at him. "Your mother isn't the one who gave Lynn atychiphobia, she doesn't even know the woman responsible for it!"

"And how would you know this, Father Unit?" Lisa raised an eyebrow.

Lynn Sr. looked at his surroundings and, seeing he had no other choice, he took a deep breath, and nervously said:

"Kids-"

And then, a familiar voice stated, "I'm adopted."

Everybody turned around and saw Lynn walking downstairs, holding a stern look as she stated:

"And it's time you learned the truth."


	4. The Past

**Alright, here's the next chapter of Atychiphobia. In this chapter, we'll see a little bit of Lynn's past, so brace yourselves, everybody! We're not going to go from birth to current point, but we'll see just enough story to give you an idea of what happened.**

 **Also, thanks to the unnamed guest who suggested to add a little extra something to the chapter, so I wouldn't have to rewrite the entire dang story.**

 **Anyway, let's get on with the chapter.**

* * *

Back where we left off, Lynn had just revealed she was adopted, to the rest of her siblings. She now sat on the couch, drinking some tea while her siblings surrounded her with worried looks.

"Okay, that tea should help you calm your nerves and, like, ease your tension," Leni remarked. "You really scared us for a moment there, Lilo."

"Yeah, you? Being adopted? That was a good one!" Luan added with a nervous smile.

"What I said just now is the truth," Lynn sternly stated. "I'm adopted, I'm not a biological Loud."

"Sure you're not," Lucy chuckled, then whispered to Leni, "Get some more tea, her delusions are growing stronger!"

"I can hear you, Lucy!" Lynn snapped, making the goth flinch. "And listen, if you're really so willing to help me, all of you, then you should be willing to consider the possibility that you'll have to learn some harsh truths."

"Well, yeah, but where even is your proof, huh?" Lisa said nervously. "Just because you say you're adopted doesn't mean you're not a Loud!"

"Cue the president!" Luan quipped, chuckling before asking, "Get it?"

"Lisa's got a point," Lincoln remarked. "I mean, if you were really adopted, some of us would be old enough to know you were there, right? We would remember you first coming to the house, right?

"Of course you would," Lynn threw a stern look at Lisa. "That's why I asked _Lisa_ to block those memories, as well as implant false memories to make you think I was born a Loud."

Everybody gasped and looked at Lisa, specially Lucy, who got a stern look next.

"And I also asked _Lucy_ to hide the adoption papers as well as she could."

Everybody gasped once more and turned to look at Lucy, and Lincoln was next in line for a stern look.

"And _Lincoln_... I didn't really ask anything out of you, but you did prompt me to reveal this information, so I wanted to put some focus on you anyway."

Everybody turned to look at Lincoln with confused looks, with the only one "gasping" being Lucy. And even then, her "gasp" sounded like an unsure one, rather than a blatant one. And then Lynn Sr. and Rita walked in, with former helping the latter stay balanced as she rubbed her forehead.

"I'm afraid Lynn's saying the whole truth," Lynn Sr. remarked. "She's adopted, and once we found out Lisa was a genius and that Lucy could hide things very well, we suggested Lynn to ask them to hide the evidence as best as they could."

"W-Wait a minute, if that was the case, then wouldn't I remember where I put it, or that I even did that?" Lucy pointed out. "I mean, I'm trying my hardest to think about it, but I'm constantly drawing blank."

"Lynn asked you to hide the adoption papers before I wiped everybody's mind clean," Lisa somberly explained. "I could put those memories back again, but I'm not sure if my "Memory Restorer" is going to work."

And then Lincoln turned to the athlete. "Lynn, why would you ask Lisa and Lucy to hide all evidence of your adoption?"

"Because, knowing you and your curiosity, you would've wanted me to tell you everything about my time before I was a Loud," Lynn sighed. "And the only thing I can remember about that time without freaking out or collapsing... is the time when Mom and Dad adopted me."

The siblings shared concerned looks, then asked in unison, "Could you tell us about that?"

Lynn flinched at her siblings showing this much interest over her past, and as they sat down alongside Rita and Lynn Sr., the man gave Lynn a reassuring look, and nodded, telling her it wouldn't hurt to tell the truth to her siblings. Lynn nodded and smiled back before beginning:

"I was on the orphanage, trying to calm myself down..."

 _A long time ago..._

A younger Lynn sat on her bed, looking against the wall as she clutched her chest and took several deep breaths. The younger athlete shivered and held back tears, before rubbing her shoulder as she let out some whimpers, which echoed across the empty bedroom.

Where were her roommates? Lynn didn't know, and the mere thought of a family seeing a living failure like her walking around the building kept her grounded in her little prison.

And then somebody entered. The owner of the orphanage: Mrs. Grouse.

"Evelyn, are you here?" the slightly-younger-but-also-old-man asked, taking a look at his surroundings. "A couple has come to see you. I need you to come with me so you can see them in person."

Lynn, or more accurately Evelyn, immediately hid under her bed sheet, or at least she tried, only for some pain to suddenly act up and make her loudly wince. Upon hearing this, Mr. Grouse walked up to her and checked the place the girl felt the pain: Her shoulder.

"Evelyn, did you play dodgeball with the other orphans again?!" Mr. Grouse asked, earning a hesitant nod from the girl. "Why did you do it?! You know how badly your shoulder injuries will act up if anything hits it!"

"They challenged me to play... I couldn't turn it down... a failure would've turned the challenge down..." Lynn shed a single tear and sniffed. "I thought... I thought I could win this time... but I was wrong..."

And then she whimpered again before crying, "I'm always wrong!"

"Now, there, calm down Evelyn, it's not your fault you reacted the way you did," Mr. Grouse wiped off the girls' crocodile tears. "Listen, come with me, we'll meet the couple, and you'll act as optimistic as you can to try and convince them to adopt you, alright?"

"They won't adopt me, no matter how hard we try," Lynn sniffed. "Nobody ever adopts failures like me."

Mr. Grouse rolled his eyes. "Yeah, basically, don't act like that. Understood?"

Lynn nodded, and moments later, she sat on a chair nearby as Mr. Grouse sat on his desk with the younger couple known as Lynn Sr., or just Lynn at the time, and Rita, in front of him. They looked at Lynn from their seats for a moment, and immediately diverted their attention as soon as they heard the girl whimper.

"I'm sorry if Evelyn seems much more delicate than you expected her to be," Mr. Grouse remarked, twiddling his fingers. "She comes from a very harsh background that made her easily scared and anxious."

"Well, we do have quite a few daughters that are rather... jumpy and energetic," Rita remarked, scratching her chin as she thought about it. "However, they can try to contain themselves if they see how anxious their new sister's like..."

The woman turned to her husband. "Are you sure it's such a good idea to adopt her, Lynn? I mean, she's cute and everything, and our sisters have been pestering us for a sister, but... she doesn't seem like she'd last long enough in our house, specially with-"

"Sir?"

The adults turned around, and saw Lynn looking at them, before facing to see Lynn Sr. with a confused look.

"Why do you want to adopt me... Sir?"

Mr. Grouse sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This is what I was worried about, Eveyn has a bad habit of being a bit of a downer, again, thanks to her upbringing."

"Okay, so, from what I can see, Evelyn doesn't seem like the type that would like being in a noisy house," Rita turned to face Lynn Sr. worriedly. "I mean, we already have four daughters living with us, Lynn, even if they were quieter and calmer than they are already, wouldn't she feel intimidated about having four older sisters?"

"Listen, I know it may sound like a bad idea to adopt this girl, but be honest with me," Lynn Sr. got up and walked to Lynn's side, who flinched as the man put a hand on her shoulder. "Just look at this girl! She's been through some stuff, as you can clearly see, and she needs a loving household to live in, with a loving and caring mother. And I don't know anybody who's more loving and caring than you, Rita."

The orphan girl looked at Rita for a moment, before frowning and glancing away, as if to say "d-don't mind me" in a meek tone. And of course, the woman couldn't help but find this adorable.

"Well, she definitely needs a good home, and I'm certain that, with some instructions, we can accomodate to make her feel comfortable," Rita sighed. "Still, are you sure this a good idea, Lynn?"

"Well, let's ask the girl herself," Lynn Sr. crouched down and met Lynn eye-to-eye. "Do you wanna go live with us, Evelyn? Do you wanna go live in a house where you'll be appreciated and cared for?"

The girl remained silent for a moment as the intact eye contact she held with the man made her feel... warm, and secure, on the inside. And she remained silent until the feeling of security was enough to let her take a deep breath, and answer with a confident tone:

"Yes."

 _Back in the present..._

"And everything after that moment, it's rather obvious what happened: I was adopted, and I started living my life as a Loud," Lynn finished, taking a long deep breath before adding, "After a certain time had passed, I had Lucy hide any and all evidence that I was adopted somewhere around the house, and then I asked Lisa to wipe her memory for good measure, alongside the memory of every single one of our "sisters" as well."

Lynn looked at her siblings, most of which were completely stunned at the revelation. "And now that you know about me, Evelyn, all I ask from you is that, you give the whole topic a rest and just calm down."

"B-But-"

"You want to help, I know, but some things are better left forgotten. And my past... who I used to be... is one of those things."

Lynn walked back to her bedroom upstairs, and everybody separated and went their own ways, except for three siblings: Lucy, Lincoln, and Lisa, the former two giving worried looks at the latter.

"L-Listen, I'll understand if you're mad that I did what I did, specially after what we just did to Mom in order to find out the truth," Lisa replied. "B-But, you have to understand, the issue is something really personal for Lynn. She even brought Mom and Dad into the discussion, and they all agreed that it was for the best!"

"That I understand, Lisa," Lincoln remarked, brushing the toddler's hair as he added, "After all, if there's anybody we can trust to help us forget horrible stuff, I'm sure you'd be the first person to come to mind as well."

"But we can't just leave the issue here and forget about it!" Lucy exclaimed, getting her siblings' attention, mostly because she actually raised her voice for once. "I know better than anybody else that an issue that's not resolved when possible can only grow worse and worse, until it becomes impossible to solve! I don't know how long it's been since Lynn's had this issue, but if it's still in a stage where we can fix it, we need to do it!"

Lisa and Lucy turned to Lincoln, and the goth asked, "What do we do, Lincoln?"

The boy scratched his chin and thought about it for a moment, before coming to a conclusion, "Lucy, if you can, go upstairs and see if Lynn's willing to tell us a bit more about her phobia. If she isn't... well, there's nothing we can do right now, then."

Lucy nodded, and the trio walked upstairs up until they were outside Lucy and Lynn's bedroom. Once there, Lincoln and Lisa remained behind, while Lucy opened the door and went inside, only to suddenly hear:

"I miss you too, sis."

Lucy froze in place and remained as quiet as she could as she caught a glimpse of a shocking sight: Lynn speaking to someone on the phone, with the goth listening intently as Lynn continued:

"Yeah, I told them about the adoption, but only up until "Dad" asked me if I wanted to come with him, my mouth was sealed shut afterwards... yeah, I'm happy we got to meet again... so, is Mom over there?... she isn't?! Where is she?!... o-oh, she went to the gym, again?... gigures, Mom hasn't changed at all, has she?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow, the mention of a Mother quickly making her curiosity rise. And then Lynn continued:

"She'll be out at the Gym all day tomorrow, huh? Who's going to babysit you?... Of course you still need a babysitter, sis, you're still just a preteen!... that guy again, huh? He's a nice guy... wait, what?... you, want to come over?"

Lucy mentally gasped and covered her mouth, just in case she gasped in real life.

"I don't know, sis, you know I'm still too scared to come back ever since Mom made her mind very clear when she put me on adoption... yes, I know you said she'd be at the Gym all day tomorrow, but... oh come on, don't pull that trick on me! You know I can't say no to you when you act so cute!... huh, you really sound cute like that, you know? Fine, I'll see you tomorrow there, sis."

Lynn hung up, and as soon as she turned around, Lucy blurted:

"You have an actual, biological sister? And a Mother as well?!"

Caught off-guard, the athlete clutched her chest and took several deep breaths before thinking about what to do now. After all, she did just tell Lucy, alongside her other "siblings" about her past. But on the other hand, she did trust Lucy more than the rest, and besides, who else was she gonna tell it to? After the bomb shell she dropped today, it probably would take a whole day before anybody was willing to touch the subject again.

So, when Lynn inevitably nodded in response, she further asked, "W-Who are they?!"

"You're crazy if you think I'm gonna tell you such sensitive information to any of you, specially after telling you a bit about my past! I know you all too well enough to know you'd try to further help me, and wind up being a thorn in my butt instead," Lynn got off the seat and said as she walked upstairs. "However, I will give you a hint: My sister came earlier today to pay me a visit."

Lucy wrote that down, and then sheepishly asked, "Can you give me another hint? That one's a bit vague."

Lynn rolled her eyes and rested on her bed. "I'll take a nap now, bye Lucy."

"Bye Lynn" was all Lucy said as she walked away and left the room, leaving her older sister to rest in peace. Once she was outside, she met Lincoln and Lisa, who were leaning against the wall nearby.

"Don't worry, you don't have to explain anything, we heard it all," Lisa gently tapped the wall. "The house's thin walls weren't a detriment for us this time."

"That gives us a clue... and an entirely new perspective on Lynn," Lincoln remarked, before narrowing his eyes in determination. "And it also gives us a clue as to what might be going on."

"Why's that?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You heard Lynn, she had a family before she was adopted, a Mother and a sister," Lincoln folded his arms. "If _our_ Mother isn't the source of the phobia, then _her_ former mother has to be the source!"

"I see the logic behind your point, Lincoln, but how are we gonna find her?" Lisa shrugged. "Lynn obviously won't just spill those beans, whether from her mouth or her butt. She'll be sealed shut."

"Well, there's only one thing left to do, then," Lincoln stretched a bit. "Lucy, do you know who came to visit Lynn just recently, besides you and Lisa?"

"A redhead, one of Lynn's roller derby teammates, and her date for you for the Sadie Hawkins dance, all girls, I think their names were Penelope, Margo, and Polly Pain respectively," Lucy deadpanly explained. "Why do you ask?"

Lincoln put his hands on his hips, "We're gonna pay them a visit."

The trio shook hands and immediately went to do the work... while Lynn leaned against the other end of the wall, arms folded and with a stern smile on her face.

" _I'm flattered that you three want to help me out, really, I am,_ " Lynn thought, before taking out her phone. " _But if you're seriously going to pester my biological family to do it, then I simply have to get involved as well._ "


	5. Adoption

**Now THIS is certainly going to get some people angry at me.**

 **I'm gonna put this story on adoption. And the reasons for this are simple: My move on Peru means that I may leave a lot of unfinished business when it comes to certain stories, and, to be honest, I've kinda grown disillusioned with this story.**

 **Okay "disillusioned" is probably not a good story, but I have essentially lost interest in continuing it. I had ideas for it, but I was foolish enough to give myself too much on my plate, and now, with the moving and all that stuff, I don't think continuing this story is possible, nor a good idea.**

 **However, since I'm putting this for adoption, anybody can just pm me and tell me they want to work on the story instead. Who knows, That Engineer might even be able to do this story justice XD**

 **But, bottom line is, this story's up for adoption, and I'm no longer gonna write for it. So, if anybody wants to adopt this story, be my guest.**

 **Have a nice day.**


	6. Another Shot

So, yeah, this fic has been cancelled for a while, hasn't it? What started as something promising was "exotosed" into being cancelled, but, admittedly, the story... Kinda didnt deserve it.

What I'm trying to get at here, is that, after thinking about it for a second... There's really no reason to not give this story another shot.

But I'm scared of history repeating itself, so, I'll let you decide: Wanna see this story being given another shot? It would have to be in a new way, of course, but it would still be a second shot at it.


End file.
